Key.



J. T. SGANLON.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.21, 1911.

Patented July 11, 1911.

avwe 14, 606

1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN T. SGANLON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

KEY.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN T. SGANLON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of the borough of Manhattan, city, county, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Keys, of

which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to keys for manipulating door locks, and has for its object to provide a key which may be secured against removal from thekey hole and which when so secured will cover the key hole and obstruct the view therethrough.

My invention will be fully described hereinafter and the features of novelty will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which- 7 Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my improved key secured in position in the key hole of a door; Fig. 2 is a detail elevation of the key itself; and Fig; 3 is a similar view of the lock for securing the key against removal from the key hole.

In the drawings or represents the door, 6 the lock with the key hole 6, 0 the usual latch and (Z the knob for manipulating the said latch. My improved key is made with the shank in two sections 6 and f pivoted together at g to form a hinge about which said sections may be swung relatively to each other. The section 6 is provided with the customary portion 72, for operating the lock while the free end of the section fis formed with an oval loop 2' adapted to cooperate with the securing device 7'. This securing device j is provided at its one end with a cross bar is and has its other end screw-threaded as indicated at Z, a stop m being preferably provided for the purpose of limiting the extent to which said securing device may be screwed into the door. It is to be understood that when in position on the door this securing device j is rotatable about'its own axis and forms a means for limiting the movement of the key about q the axis and also for preventing a swinging movement of the key section f away from the door as will be more fully described hereinafter.

v In using the key for the purpose of operating the lock 6 the two sections 6 and f are brought into axialalinement and the key used in the customary fmanner. After the door has been locked the section 7 is swung Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 21, 1911.

Patented July 11, 1911.

Serial No. 609,969.

as clearly shown in Fig. 1. In this condition the securing device 7' extends through the loop a, it being understood that the cross bar 70 has been previously moved to a horizontal position to readily pass through said loop 2'. If the said securing device j is now rotated about its own axis through an arc of 90 to bring the cross bar it to a vertical position, the said section f will be held against any swinging movement away from the door a or to any great extent in a direction about the axis of the key. It is to be understood that in order to secure this result the length of the cross bar 76 is less than the width of the loop 2' in a direction at an angle to the axis of the section ftand greater than the width thereof in a direction parallel with the axis of said section f. The said cross when in a horizontal position will thus readily pass through the loop 2' and when in a vertical position will not pass through the loop. When the said securing device jtherefore locks the section f against a swinging: movement on the hinge g, it is impossible for anyone to rotate the key about its axis and push it from the key hole from the outside. It is thus impossible to pick the lock or to in any way manipulate the key from the outside to unlock the lock and open the door. Furthermore, when the key sections 0 and f are in the position shown in Fig. 1 the section f extends downwardly inregistry with the key hole 6 and thus obstructs the view through said key hole. In order to make this obstruction more complete the key point with a preferably integral plate or enlargement f. This plate f is so situated as to completely cover said key holea and prevent any one on the one side of the door from obtaining a view of anything on the side of the door from which the key is inserted into the lock. This plate also prevents the insertion of a tool for unlocking the securing device 7'.

The plate f is preferably located at the one end of the section f and is provided with spaced portions f between which the end of the section 6 extends to form the hinge g. If desired the plate f may extend lengthwise of the section f to a greater distance than shown, or in fact entirely to the loop 2', and form a tag on which information, e

such asthe name of a hotel and room number may be produced. In this case the said plate would take the place of the ordinary key tag now in use.

My improved structure thus in addition to preventing the picking or other unauthorized manipulation of the look also obstructs said key hole either against the human eye or against the insertion of an implement in tended by an intruder to unlock the securing device j and thus permit the key section f to be swung on the hinge g and the key pushed out of the key hole. A key constructed according to my invention thus affords a maximum of protection against intruders of all kinds.

Various changes in the specific form shown and described may be made within the scope of the claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A key comprising one section adapted for insertion into a key hole, another section movably connected therewith and movable to a position to cover the key hole and means for preventing movement of said last named section toward or away from the key hole.

2. A key comprising one section adapted to be inserted into a key hole, another section pivotally connected to said first section and arranged to extend in registry with the key hole, a plate on said last named section adapted to cover said key hole, a loop on said last named section and a locking means adapted to cooperate with said loop to secure said last named section against movement toward or away from the key hole.

3. A key comprising two sections hinged together, and an enlargement located on one section adjacent to the hinge and adapted to cover a key hole.

4. A key comprising a main section, an auxiliary section and a flattened portion carried by said auxiliary section and extending to either side of the axis thereof, said flattened portion being pivotally secured to said main section.

5. A key comprising a main section, an auxiliary section and an enlargement on said auxiliary section extending to either side of said main section and hinued thereto.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN T. SGANLON.

lVitnesses:

JOHN A. KEHLENBECK, M. H. Looxwoon.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

